304 - Unlicensed Upgrades
by hyperpsychomaniac
Summary: Kilobyte pays Lord Fear a visit. In exchange for Fear's assistance defeating Ace Lightning and furthering his plans to conquer the mortal world, he gives him an upgrade. Meanwhile, Chuck and Mark decide to find out what Kilobyte is up to, alone.
1. Chapter 1

**A/n: **Haven't had a chance to write one of these in awhile. Please read and review! :3

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><p><em>Pete, I need to be honest with you, mate. I don't know whether to be worried, or thrilled about the way things have been going lately. Everyone seems to be doing... nothing. It's as if the rules that used to apply don't even matter, which I suppose, makes sense. There've been a few scuffles at the Carnival, and Ace, Sparx and Lady Illusion have kind of tried to get more pieces of the amulet. But I don't think their hearts are really in it. Even the Evils seem to have other things on their minds. The Carnival actually seems to be running a little better than usual; I think Duff Kent may be taking advantage of Fear's Evils since they've got nothing better to do... can't see that being a good idea, but it seems to be working out for him so far.<em>

_And I know what you're thinking - this should make me happy. No having to run off in the middle of maths class to save the world - or arriving too late to save a man's life... But there's still Kilobyte. We have no idea where he's hiding. Or what his plans are. It's been weeks, and he hasn't so much as shown his face. I've had my share of scares because of this game, Pete. But after everything that's happened, not knowing what he's got planned scares me more than anything. I only hope that once it does come into the open, we'll be ready._

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><p>Lord Fear let the music carry him above the thoughts that plagued him. Finding out your entire existence was nothing but a fabrication could dampen anyone's mood. It was perhaps not that, but the thought that now he had no purpose. Oh, the occasional battle with Lightning had been fun, no doubt. But those had lost their meaning. Even the foolish superhero seemed to realise that. The fights had only been a reaction to finding themselves in each others way - there had been no plan or purpose from either side.<p>

At least the sounds of the organ soothed him, and in these he found some meaning. Those programmers had given him something of worth, it seemed.

Fear hummed along, oblivious for the moment to the rest of the world, until a loud thud and a clatter rudely interrupted him.

"Good lord," muttered Stafffhead, who had been swaying along to the music beside his master. "Can't you see this room is in use?!"

The organ let out a screech as Fear mishit a chord. He let out a sigh.

Duff Kent had just dumped a whole pile of metal boxes that clattered and tingled as if they contained a small fortune in Doom Dimes on a desk in the corner. "Hey, I ain't bugging you. I just need somewhere safe to count my money."

Staffhead raised an eyebrow. "And you consider the lair of my master a safe place for a mortal?"

"No ones gonna steal from me in here, are they?"

Fear rolled his eyes. He couldn't even work up the motivation to blast the mortal. Which would possible be unwise, at any rate. He was at least keeping his minions from whining and whinging - another small thing to be thankful for.

"Not steal, no..." Staffhead had a mischievous gleam in his eye. He powered up and blasted one of the boxes.

"Hey!"

The box exploded with crack and the Haunted House was suddenly filled with coins clattering to the floor, and notes floating through the air.

Staffhead giggled.

Depressed he may have been, but Fear was not patient enough to let the sudden mess slide. Notes fluttered down around him and his eyes narrowed. "Enough! Both of you!" he snapped. He whirled to his feet and grabbed Staffhead. "What must I do to get a bit of peace and quiet?!"

"But I didn't start it!" Staffhead protested. "This mortal is using you... well... your minions. You can't let him get away with it!"

"That's for me to decide!"

Duff had a rather smug grin plastered across his face. "Hey, stick, your master's smart enough to know I'm helping him out."

Fear tossed Staffhead aside. He moved across the room to Duff and stuck out his neck so that his face was inches away from the carnival owner's.

Duff gulped.

"You're helping yourself, mortal. Do you think me a fool?"

"Heh..." said Duff nervously. "Every deal's got benefits for everybody... boss..."

"That's a bit better," Fear drew himself up. "You may be helping me but that does not give you free reign, understood?!"

Duff nodded furiously.

"Good." Fear headed back towards his organ.

"Actually... there was one thing I wanted to ask you..." Duff said tentatively.

"Oh, does this mortal know no boundaries, m'lord?" Staffhead said.

Fear ignored his minion. "What?!"

"Just that... with all the finding the amulet stuff and defeating Ace Lightning not mattering anymore... and with you sitting in here all day just playing your organ... well... I wondered whether you'd considered other careers..."

Fear raised an eyebrow in complete bafflement. "Are you inquiring as to my future aspirations?"

"... well..."

"I have none, you fool! My purpose was supposed to be to defeat Ace Lightning. But no, that is not the truth, is it?! My purpose is... it was to entertain these mortal children by providing a foil to the scrupulous Ace Lightning. My only consolation is that that cretins purpose was even more inane!"

"There's... there's nothing wrong with being an entertainer!" Duff stuttered. "I mean, perhaps bad guy in a video game is a bit... er... but you play that organ so well... you could make a lotta money off that..."

Fear's eyes narrowed. "You mean you could make a lot of money..."

"Well, if you needed a manager..."

"Get out of my Haunted House, you witless fool!" Fear stretched out an arm and grabbed one of the intact money boxes. He hurled it at Duff.

Duff let out a noise rather like a squeak, as the box hit with a clang against the wall above his head, and bolted outside.

"Honestly," said Staffhead. "Can you believe the nerve of that mortal? I think it might be wise if we got rid of him."

"Then who would you terrorise?" Fear said with a sigh.

"The rat?"

"Your loyal Staff may be onto something, Lord Fear."

If Fear possessed a skin he would have jumped out of it at that very moment. As it was, he was able to recover remarkably fast, so that when the speaker moved out of the deep shadows he was able to answer with barely a hint of surprise. "Kilobyte. I was wondering when you would emerge."

"You should get rid of the mortal," Kilobyte said, as if Fear had not spoken. "They are worthless."

"He is my mortal," Fear said testily. "And I will get rid of him when I see fit."

Kilobyte scowled. "And when would that be? I have observed your actions of late. Or lack."

"My actions are not your concern," Fear snapped. "But perhaps you have not heard the news."

"News? I take it you mean that we are a child's game? I know Fear. I have always known."

Fear swallowed. It had never occurred to him that Kilobyte already knew. "If that's so... why do you question my inactivity? You yourself have been gone for weeks. You can hardly judge..."

"I have been preparing."

"For what?"

"To destroy these mortals. You see, I..."

Fear sighed. He found himself relatively unconcerned with what this creature could do to him. Not knowing his existence was pointless. It did not mean that he didn't fear him, but he failed to see the point of crawling around on the floor to gain his favour. At any rate, he was in too foul a mood to give Kilobyte the satisfaction. "Yes, Ace Lightning has filled me in on this already. He told me you'd destroyed the programmer, and that you intended to do the same to all the mortals. And that you would grant us the great honour of being allowed to live if we were to help you in this stupendous endeavor."

"I detect a hint of sarcasm, Fear," Kilobyte growled.

"I expect you do," said Fear. If Kilobyte felt the urge to destroy him, so be it. But Fear would not allow himself to cower.

Kilobyte's eyes narrowed. "I am offering you an opportunity, Fear. I can understand the Lightning Knights holding onto their programming and denying their desire to hurt these mortals, but you... there should be no issue."

"I am not at your beck and call anymore, Kilobyte," Fear snapped.

"This is not an order," Kilobyte growled.

"Hmm." Perhaps Kilobyte would not destroy him. "An offer, then?"

"Yes."

"And if I help you, then what do I benefit?"

Kilobyte sighed. "Besides payback on these worthless mortals, you mean? You get power. You see, when I killed the master programmer, I came into possession of his instruments of control. Along with the inbuilt knowledge he gave me, I am able to manipulate the very fabric of this game. Not powerful enough to defeat Ace Lightning? I can give you the strength."

"I no longer wish to destroy Ace Lightning," Fear said. "What is the point Kilobyte?!"

"At least try it out. After all, what do you have to lose? You can always return to wallowing in your self pity."

"Lord Fear does not wallow!" Staffhead snapped angrily.

"Quiet," Fear growled. It was not a terrible offer. In former days he would barely have hesitated to accept it. But now, he found it difficult to work up the desire. And yet, Kilobyte seemed to need him badly, else Fear was sure there would have at least been some response to his previous snide remarks."Alright, Kilobyte, I accept your proposal. I will... assist you in your endeavors. But I refuse to be your slave!"

"Of course," Kilobyte said. His lips twisted into a smile. "I would never enslave such an entity as yourself, Lord Fear." He stepped across to him and a tentacle slipped out, brushing the skeleton's shoulder.

Fear repressed a shudder.

"You are magnificent, in your own way. It is only the limits of your programming that cause you to be so ineffectual. With the right upgrades, you could have defeated Ace Lightning."

"I thought we were to destroy the mortals?"

"Ace Lightning will likely stand in our way," Kilobyte said with a sigh. The tentacle snapped back in. "As a gesture of my good faith, Fear, I will give you one of the upgrades now. A minor defensive ability, but it could be useful against Lightning in the right situation. Try it out - you may find you rediscover your desire to destroy him."

"Oh joy," Fear cringed as two of Kilobyte's tentacles snaked out and wound their way around them. A shower of sparks crossed the gap between the two. Fear could feel a tingling, like Ace Lightning had decided to zap him, only not quite as powerful. He shuddered at the sensation.

Kilobyte's tentacles withdrew.

Fear had his eyes squeezed shut, and he opened one cautiously as the tingling stopped. "Is... is it over?" He glanced at his hands. "I don't feel any different. If this is some trick..."

"It is no trick, Fear." Kilobyte was smiling. "You now possess the ability to equalise the power levels of anyone you desire, save mortals of course. And me."

"But of course."

"It may be of use if you are running low..."

"I understand the definition of equalise, Kilobyte."

"You will be of use to me. I will let you know what I need when it is required."

"I'm sure you will. Now, if you don't mind..." Fear gestured pretentiously towards the door.

Kilobyte ignored the gesture, and took a step towards Fear so he towered over him. "Be very, very careful, Fear." Only then did he turn and leave as silently as he'd arrived.

Staffhead shivered. "My lord," he said tentatively, "you cannot be seriously considering working for him? After how he treated you..."

Fear allowed himself a smile. "No need to worry, my loyal staff. I know not why, but it appears Kilobyte truly desires our help. I doubt he is foolish enough to risk rough handling on his part to push us to join forces with those pathetic knights. You see, we will do as he wishes so long as it suits us - we shall figure out what his true plans are. And then we shall be all the better placed to make our own."

"A wonderful plan, my lord."

"It is, isn't it? And these... upgrades he speaks of. These may also of use to us. Let us go and find that worthless fool, Ace Lightning. He has stomped over our turf as he pleases, let us see how he likes us doing the same to him."

Staffhead grinned widely. "Oh, an excursion! I've missed those!"

* * *

><p>"I'm telling you, Mark, these guys are unstoppable." Chuck stomped up the steps to the Thunder Tower, pausing briefly at the top to catch his breath. "I mean, when you get all three lightning knights in the game - assuming Random Virus doesn't go crazy on ya - you're blasting everyone, left, right, centre! And now with Lady Illusion? There's no way we've got anything whatsoever to worry about..."<p>

The two boys walked through the doors to the Thunder Tower, at which point they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Yes, well," said Mark with a sigh. "This is the real world, Chuck."

A piece of metal flew across the room and slammed into the wall just above the door the two boys had just entered.

Mark just about jumped out of his skin.

"Sparx!" Chuck exclaimed. "Mortals, over here!"

"Sorry!"

The scene which had greeted the two as they entered was hardly one of efficiency. One corner of the Thunder Tower was an absolute mess. The Lightning Flash hovered above Random Virus, who was fixing something underneath it. It seemed he had turned that corner of the tower into his own, personal workshop. Apart from the Lightning Flash there was an odd assortment of tools lying around, as well as what looked like a few pieces of complete junk.

Sparx was hanging around, and the piece of metal she had just thrown was probably a bit of scrap Random had finished using. She picked up another piece of scrap and turned it over in her hands, examining the aerodynamics. Mark grabbed Chuck by the sleeve and dragged him away from the door, in case Sparx tried to flatten them again.

"Sparx, what are you doing? You could've killed us!"

"Helping Random clean up," she said. "He's fixed the Flash for me after all."

"Twice," Random muttered under his breath, but he continued whatever he was doing under the vehicle and otherwise ignored them.

"So..." said Chuck. "Once you've fixed the Flash are you going to go blast some bad guys?"

"Maybe..."

"Sparx, you'll just break the Lightning Flash again and Random will have to fix it. Again." Ace was sitting in a relatively new looking sofa, flicking through channels on the television absentmindedly.

Mark frowned, and wandered over. It was probably safer on that side of the Thunder Tower anyway. "Ace, I thought you'd be doing... something..."

Ace flicked through another couple of channels. "This is something."

"My parents would disagree with you. And I think I'm starting to see their point..."

"Lady Illusion's at work anyway." Another three channels cycled across the screen in quick succession.

"She has a job?"

"She can shapeshift, Mark. How do you think we got the new sofa anyway?"

Mark eyed the piece of furniture suspiciously. "I don't know... you never know with you guys. But I mean, you don't need a job, Ace. You're a superhero. Shouldn't you be blasting Fear, or down at the Carnival, or..."

"To do what?" said Ace with a sigh. "Pass the time?" He pressed the channel up button on the remote again. The device let out a crack and a small puff of grey smoke. "Stupid..." Ace mashed the remaining buttons a few more times, then hurled the remote across the Tower. It clattered across the floor a few feet from Chuck, who had been trying to look over Random's shoulder at what he was doing to the Lightning Flash.

"Dude!" said Chuck. "Mortal!"

"Sorry..." Ace stood to his feet with a sigh and turned off the television manually. He did this far more gently than he had treated the remote, and as far as Mark could see, without any damage.

"Ace, are you sure you're alright?"

Ace shrugged. "I don't know." He seemed to think for a moment. "It's just that..."

There was a whine of engines overhead. Both Ace and Mark looked up to see the Doom Wagon drop through the open roof. "Well, well, well," said Fear. His neck snaked out below the howling vehicle; he wore an almost delirious looking grin. "Isn't this just the picture of domestic bliss?"

Ace hands balled into fist. "What do you want, Fear?"

"Oh, I was just thinking how you've paid me a few visits, but I haven't had the chance to repay the favour. And I think it's more then time for a little get together!"

"Wonderful," Mark heard Ace mutter under his breath. The superhero then shot into the air after Fear.

"Hang on, Ace!" Sparx shouted. She leapt onto the Lightning Flash and revved the vehicle.

"Sparx! I still need to disconnect the..." Random cut off his sentence with a frustrated growl, as the Lightning Flash tore up towards the ceiling, strewing tools and cables in a clatter across the floor.

The top of the Thunder Tower became a whirlpool of green, blue and pink energy, and zipping vehicles. Mark backed towards the corner of the tower where Chuck and Random were.

"Dude, this is more like it!"

"Chuck," Mark frowned. "They're going to trash the place!"

"At least they're not moping..."

"She's going to burn out the drive motors," Random grumbled.

Chuck glanced across at him. "So... does it suck being stuck on the ground all the time?"

A crackle of electricity played across the top of the tower, making Mark jump.

Random frowned. "Only when Sparx is destroying the last three hours of work I've done. You two might want to stand back..."

The Doom Wagon swooped low overhead, and then began to shudder as if it had suddenly encountered some serious mechanical difficulty. It gave a whine of protest and then crashed into the floor with a scrape of metal. Fear was not to be put off however, and jumped swiftly from the crumpled heap. He turned Staffhead on Random, but the cyborg quickly turned the flow of energy back on Fear.

Mark and Chuck both backed away until they were behind the sofa.

"I don't know what Lord Fear's doing," Chuck muttered. "He's outnumbered, he's gotta know that..."

"It doesn't look like he cares..." Mark observed.

Sure enough, Fear seemed to have little care for his own safety. Despite now being grounded, and hence a far easier target to hit, he was blasting around and yelling madly.

Sparx and Ace landed and added their pink and blue energy to the mix of green that Random kept throwing back. Fear crumpled to his knees under the onslaught.

"Okay, stop!" Ace ordered.

The crackle of electricity died away.

"I don't know what you're doing, Fear. But it's not working. Get out of here before we finish you off!"

Fear drew in deep breaths, and Staffhead coiled beside him. "Charming, Lightning. You're a true gentleman. Me, on the other hand..." He grabbed Staffhead and pointed him at Ace. "Now, my loyal staff!"

Staffhead grinned, and a blue-grey tendril of energy built within his crystal ball. It then whipped out like a rope and wrapped itself around Ace's wrist.

Ace frowned at the attack, but then his wristcannon began to spark and leak energy into the tendril that coiled and twisted around his hand like a snake. "What the..."

"What now, m'lord?" Staffhead said nervously.

"It needs to equalise, you fool! Shoot me!"

"But, my lord..."

"Now!"

Staffhead turned on his master and blasted him. This sent another blue-grey tendril at Fear. This briefly behaved much like the attack on Ace, wrapping itself around Fear's wrist. And then both tendrils flashed and shot out across the distance that separated the two enemies. The two tendrils linked, then lit up with a sharp blue glow. Fear let out a gasp. Ace grunted and dropped to his knees.

"Ace!" Mark shouted.

The energy crackled between the two like a slow-motion bolt of lightning.

"Chuck, what's happening?!"

"I don't know, man! It's like... Fear's draining Ace's energy... he shouldn't be able to do that! There's no upgrade that I know of that..."

The glowing blue rope suddenly snapped, and a crack filled the Thunder Tower like a clap of thunder. Mark and Chuck covered their ears. When Mark looked up Ace was flickering on his knees and Sparx was down next to him, shaking him by the shoulder.

"Ace!"

Fear stood to his feet, holding his hands in front of himself as energy crackled off of them. "This feels..." he winced. "Less than pleasant..." He grabbed up Staffhead and pointed him at the knights. There was no blast of green energy. "Staffhead!" Fear snapped.

Staffhead hung limply in his master's arms. "Ooo... woozie... I'm... mumsie, is that you?"

Fear snarled in frustration. "Oh, of course it couldn't be straight-forward, could it?"

Random began to roll towards him, his claw held threateningly before him. "It might be wise if you leave while you still have your head," he growled.

Fear paused for a moment, glanced at Staffhead, and then backed towards the open door behind him. "Careful, knights. I'll have this worked out before long..." He slipped out the door and was gone.

Mark rushed from behind the sofa and to Ace's side. He was definitely low on energy. Very much so. It was like the first time Mark had shown him to the Thunder Tower, when his levels were so low he was down in single digits. Sparx tried to heft him up onto one shoulder, but he was almost a dead weight. She grunted and then shouted: "Random!" a hint of desperation tinging her voice.

Random rolled towards them. "Move."

Mark realised at the last moment that the cyborg wasn't slowing in his approach. He took a few hasty steps back at the same moment that Sparx let go of Ace and stepped away.

Random didn't stop, but grasped Ace by the back of the collar with his good hand, and hooked his claw under the back of the knight's jacket. He then rolled to the transformer at some speed, and thrust Ace practically face-first into the machine. Energy crackled around them.

Random rolled back out of the way as Ace regained enough of his energy to stand. Eventually, Ace let go of the transformer and stepped away.

Sparx let out a sigh. "Thank Zoar..."

Ace put a hand to the side of his head and grunted. "What happened? I think I blacked out after Fear hit me with that... thing..." He rubbed a hand through his hair. "Did someone punch me in the head?"

"Dude, Random just about face-planted you in the transformer!" said Chuck.

"You really needed a recharge," said Random. "Sorry. I got a bit carried away."

Ace gave a lopsided smile. "Well, it feels like I needed it." He put out a hand and grasped Random's shoulder. "Thanks, buddy."

"What was that anyway?" Sparx asked. "I've never seen an attack like that before."

"Some sort of upgrade," Chuck shrugged. "But not one I've ever seen. Perhaps its some new program."

Mark shook his head. "How could it be? The only person who could mess with the game was Rick. And he's... not really capable of doing that anymore."

"Look, I don't know dude. All I can tell you is what I saw..."

"Can you figure it out, Chuck?" Ace asked. He folded his arms. "If someone else is fiddling around with programs I'd kind of like to know about it."

Chuck nodded. "No problem, man. Chuck-dude is on it."


	2. Chapter 2

Mark was just about to go to bed when his phone rang. He snatched it up off his bedside table and answered it quickly. "Chuck, what is it?" he hissed. "It's nearly midnight; if my parents hear me..."

"Dude, haven't you heard of vibrate? Besides, tomorrows not a school day, what do your parents care?"

Mark let out a sigh. He could have explained that after everything that had happened at Rick's computer shack, his parents had cracked down on practically anything that hinted at their son sneaking out at night. But he knew with Chuck, explaining was more than often a waste of time. "What is it?"

"I found the code that's been changed for Fear's upgrade. I think I've got an idea of what's going on."

Mark glanced at his bedroom door, but the hall light was still off. He grabbed his blanket and pulled it over his head, thinking if he got carried away with the conversation it might at least muffle the sound. At which point he realised he hadn't hidden under his blanket so he could stay up since he was about ten.

"Someone's definitely been playing with the code," Chuck continued. "But the thing is... they haven't done a great job. That's why it was so easy for me to find. It's functional though. Basically, Fear has the ability to transfer power from a character with a high energy level, or who's fully recharged, to a character with a low power level or who's low on power."

"Sounds handy."

"In theory, yeah. I'm not sure how well it's going to work though. Fear didn't look too happy after taking all of Ace's power; I think he gave himself a bit of a zap. If he equalised Ace's power with one of his weaker minions, I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up completely frying them. And it takes ages to recharge. After he uses Staffhead to set it up he can't use him for at least a few minutes."

Mark frowned. "Okay. But why would someone design it like that?"

"It this was still a game I would just say they didn't want to make it too hard for us to win. But, I'm pretty sure whoever's done the fiddling wants us to lose, so... I'm not sure it's intentional. I think someone's experimenting, and they're not very good at it."

"Okay, so someone's playing with the code. And not Rick, because..."

"Because Kilobyte squashed him..."

"Chuck..."

"Sorry..."

Mark drew in a breath. "So who, Chuck?"

"I don't know. Maybe Kilobyte's roped in some programmer, but I do know this; whoever it is used Rick's rig. That means they're doing it in the computer shack. If we go and..."

"I'm not going there in the middle of the night!" Mark cut him short. He winced and peaked out from under the blanket. Still no light in the hallway.

"I know! I didn't mean now. We can do it in the morning..."

"Isn't it still a crime scene?"

"I don't think so. All the police tape and stuff is gone. Besides, we don't need to go inside. We'll just scout it out. If it looks too dangerous we can call the knights to come and help."

"I suppose," Mark sighed. "Alright. And if there's another programmer involved it might be best if we left them out until we work out what's going on. Ace handled meeting Rick alright, but I'm not so sure about Random or Sparx."

"Yeah. So I'll pick you up about nine tomorrow, dude. It'll be awesome - just like we're the superheroes. Later." Chuck cut the connection.

Mark let out a sigh and put down the phone. Already, he could feel the knot building in his stomach. "Yeah, superheroes with no powers." At least he could keep an eye on Chuck and make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

* * *

><p>Mark wolfed down a pancake, and glanced at his watch. He sat at the family's dining table, trying to eat his breakfast without showing how much of a rush he was in. Apparently, it wasn't working so well.<p>

"You got somewhere to be, son?" Simon was in the kitchen, flipping a pancake over the stove. It landed on the very edge of the frypan, but managed to stay in. There were drippings of burnt pancake mix over the rest of the stove - some of his previous attempts had not been so successful.

"Ah, yeah," Mark replied. "Chuck's coming to pick me up at nine."

"Sounds fun. What are you boys planning then?"

The question sounded innocuous, but Mark couldn't help but think his father was more interested than he let on. He shrugged. "Um... not much. We'll take a bit of a drive, maybe see if anything's happening at the lake..." The knot in his stomach was back, but not because he feared what might happen at the shack later. The lies he had to keep on telling his parents had seemed harmless before, but of late they'd begun to weigh on him more. Something told him his parents would want to know he was up against a bad guy that was capable of killing humans. Of course, Mark knew he couldn't tell them the truth. Lying to them was for their own protection anyway.

Simon wasn't able to question his son further, because Fiona rushed down the stairs, putting in a pair of earrings as she went. "Okay, I've got twenty minutes. My first viewing is at nine thirty..." She rushed into the kitchen and kissed Simon.

"Look at this, dear. I've got it to stay in the frypan..."

Fiona looked at the slightly burnt stack of pancakes, but smiled. "They're lovely, dear."

"Wait, mum, why are you working? It's a Saturday."

"You've got to work weekends if you want to get sales," Fiona said in a rush. She came around the table and squeezed her son's shoulders. "I've got two viewings across the other side of town. And then in main street at the..."

"At that ice cream shop that closed down. Right?" Simon said, cutting over the top of his wife.

Fiona frowned at him briefly. "Oh, yes, of course. The ice cream shop." She smiled at Mark.

Mark glanced again at his watch. He was just debating whether to finish his pancakes or go outside and wait for Chuck, when he felt something crunch in his mouth. He frowned and pulled out a piece of eggshell. "It's nearly nine. I'm going to go. Thanks for breakfast, Dad."

"Have fun, sweetie," Fiona called after him brightly. "Don't do anything we wouldn't do!"

* * *

><p>"Well, the police tape's gone."<p>

Chuck and Mark sat in Chuck's parent's car, across the street from Rick's computer shack. Sure enough, any sign that barely weeks ago the place had been crawling with cops was gone. Instead, there was a 'for lease' sign up in the window. From their vantage point, Mark could see that the lights were off, and there was no obvious activity going on inside the shop. "We're still not going to just be able to walk in, Chuck. It's probably locked. And there are people around. And I don't plan to spend my whole Saturday out here."

"It'll be like a stakeout," said Chuck. He pulled up the handbrake, and then reached into the backseat. After a bit of scrabbling around he came back with his hand-held Ace game. He turned it on, and the console let out a chirp.

"Seriously, Chuck? You do realise on a stakeout you're supposed to watch the place you're staking out?!"

"I can multitask..."

Mark sighed in exasperation. "Okay. You stay here and see if anything happens. Is there a back entrance or something?"

"Um..." Chuck mashed a few buttons on the hand-held. "There might be. There was a door that I wasn't sure where it went, maybe it opened on the alley."

Mark rolled his eyes. "I'll go look then." He opened the car door and slammed it behind him. He glanced back over his shoulder. Chuck was still absorbed in his game. "I will never understand how he can still play that."

Mark headed towards the shack, slowing as he approached. Though he now viewed it in the daylight, the first thing that came to mind as he stood outside was his last visit here. Mark shuddered, drew in a breath, and walked down past the shop until he came to the nearest alleyway. He glanced down it. They alley was in shadow, but it wasn't really that dark. It was cluttered with trash and discarded boxes. Really, nothing at all that should frighten him.

Much. Mark swallowed, and cautiously moved down into the shadow of the buildings. "There's got to be a door here somewhere..." He walked past a stack of trashcans. One was knocked to its side and the rubbish strewn across the alley. "Okay, this isn't the carnival, Mark. Pigface didn't do that. It was probably just an alley-cat..." Mark turned a corner at the end of the alley, heading towards what should have been the back of Rick's computer shack. The rubbish was worse back here, and he soon found the culprit. There was a large metal dumpster at the end of the alley. It was lying on its side, its contents strewn all over the place. Mark frowned. "Pigface couldn't do that..."

He heard a low rumble behind him.

Mark spun around, but saw nothing. He heard the noise again. Overhead. Mark looked up. On the side of the building was an old metal fire escape. Perched on this, clinging on and causing the whole structure to creak and groan was what looked like a fluffy grey tiger.

Mark stared up open-mouthed. The animal flicked its tail from side to side, it's whole back end started to wiggle as if following the lead of its tail. The fire escape let out a groan, and a rivet popped loose from the wall.

This was enough to break Mark out of his stupor. He dove for a stack of black trash bags as the entire structure tore free, bringing the animal down with tremendous yowl.

Mark scrambled to his feet. The oversized cat wasn't far behind him. It spotted him and let out a growl, then bounded towards the stack of rubbish. Mark jumped to the side just as the cat plonked its front feet into the trash he'd landed in. It stared at its fore paws for a moment and then carefully lifted one, as if it expected Mark to be underneath.

Mark was already halfway down the alleyway. He grabbed his phone and dialed Chuck.

"Dude, you found something?"

"Chuck! Bring the car around to the alley!"

Behind him, the cat looked up and caught sight of its prey. It crouched low and began to stalk Mark up the alleyway.

* * *

><p>Chuck sighed and tossed his hand-held into the back of the car. He glanced about him, and seeing the road was completely clear, floored it out of his parking space. He crossed the road and jerked the steering wheel hard towards the curb, right next to the alley. His front tyre climbed up onto the sidewalk "Aw, man. Almost perfect park!"<p>

There was a load thud from outside, and Chuck looked up to see that Mark had ran smack bang into the side of the car. It didn't seem to have hurt him much, because he had already unlatched the door and was climbing inside. "Chuck, drive!"

"What? What happened? Did you run into Kilobyte..."

"There's a cat!"

"Seriously, dude? A... argh!" Chuck had spotted the monstrosity at the end of the alleyway. The giant grey furball caught sight of them and hissed. "What the hell is that!?"

"Chuck!"

"Right!" Chuck stomped a foot on the gas, and promptly stalled. "Ahh! What happened?"

"Start the car, Chuck!"

Chuck fumbled with the keys. Just as he got the vehicle started there was another, heavier crash against the car's side. Chuck looked up to see Mark pressed into the passenger seat. His window had been open a crack at the top, and a great big paw was fumbling at the gap. The paw was pulled down, and then Chuck saw a giant pair of jaws press up against the window, before a huff of warm breath fogged it up. "Ahh!" He stomped on the gas, and this time the engine caught and they ripped away from the curb with a squeal of tyres.

Chuck glanced in the rear view mirror. The cat had disappeared. "Is it following us?"

Mark was gasping for air. "I... I don't know. I'm calling Ace."

Chuck tried to keep his eyes on the road, but was looking this way and that for any sign of the giant cat. He'd slowed down since their initial escape; they were still in town and it wouldn't do any good if they had a crash. And then he saw something peek over the top of a building just ahead of them. The grey, furry face watched them pass. Chuck peered in the rear view mirror, and caught sight of a brief flash of grey, following them along the tops of the buildings.

"I, I don't know..." Mark was saying into the phone. "I think we got away from it..."

"No, we didn't," Chuck groaned. "I just saw it. Whatever that thing is, it's hunting us!"

"Head for the Thunder Tower, Chuck. Ace is going to meet us."

"Okay, we're nearly there." Chuck pulled onto the road that led towards the woods. There wasn't as many cars around here, so he stomped on the gas.

At which point something slammed into the roof of the car. The roof dented in, and four claws punctured straight through above Mark's head. Chuck screamed, and then turned back to look at the road just in time to see a tree rear up in front of him. He swerved at the last minute. He missed the tree, but the vehicle skidded and lost traction, then slewed to the side as its rear outran its front. They slid across the road sideways and came to rest in the bushes.

"You okay, dude?" Chuck gasped.

"Yeah, I think so..." Mark rubbed at the side of his head.

From above the two boys came the sound of crumpling, tearing metal.

* * *

><p>Ace wasn't entirely certain what a cat was, but the noise the two mortals were making in response to its pursuit was enough to convince him he was needed.<p>

"Sparx! Random!" he called. "Mark and Chuck need our help. Come on!" He shot out of the Thunder Tower's roof. Mark had said they were headed for the Thunder Tower, so they shouldn't be too far away. Ace heard the sound of an over-taxed vehicle, and then a crash. He quickly spotted a trail of smoke snaking its way into the air among the trees. He frowned, his forehead creasing in worry.

Ace powered through the air and touched down on a dirt track near to the smoke. He quickly spotted Chuck's vehicle. It looked damaged, but that was not the worst of it. A creature nearly the size of a Buzzbeast was on the roof, gnawing at the corner of the car. It didn't seem in any great hurry, but was stretched out across the roof as if it intended to camp out there for quite some time.

Ace powered up his wristcannons. "Hey!"

The animal looked at him, and then it hissed. It didn't want to move from the car.

Ace scowled. He couldn't blast the car with the boys still inside.

Suddenly, the car's horn blew a loud, long note. The cat leapt from the top of the car and landed beside it, its fur on end. It let out a grumble then turned its attention on Ace.

At least that meant Mark and Chuck were okay. Or at least one of them. "Okay, here we go," Ace charged up his wristcannons again and blasted the cat. It hissed and tumbled over itself in the dirt, and then tore off into the trees like a bullet.

Ace didn't have the time to think about how easy that had been, but hurried over to the car and tugged on the door. "Mark! Chuck!"

The door finally gave way, coming partially away from the side of the vehicle in his hand.

"Dude, seriously? You broke the door..."

"Are you two alright?"

"We're fine," said Mark.

"What happened?"

"Chuck figured out whoever messed with Fear's programming is working from the computer shack. So we went down to..."

"By yourselves?!" Ace snapped. "Mark, you know what happened there last time."

Chuck's eyes had suddenly gone wide. "Cat!"

Ace looked up just in time to see a bundle of fur leap out at him from among the trees. It hit him in the chest and knocked him to the ground. They rolled over a few times, and then came to rest. The cat's paws pinned his chest. It opened its mouth and yowled, blowing warm, wet air over Ace's face.

"Ace, look out!" Sparx's voice came from above him. A blast of pink lightning caught the cat in the side and flung it off Ace. Sparx looked over her shoulder. "Random, hurry it up!" She dropped the Lightning Flash down and then leapt off beside Ace. "Need a hand?"

Ace pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah."

The cat had not run as far this time. It stalked around the two knights, eyeing both warily.

Ace shot another bolt of lightning at it, but the cat skipped nimbly to the side.

"That thing's fast," Sparx muttered.

Random Virus finally rolled into view. "If Fear doesn't come back for that Doom Wagon, I am seriously considering claiming it," he grunted.

"Random! Great," Ace growled. "If you can help us corner this thing I might be able to blast it."

"Wait, what is that?" Random frowned. He rolled up beside Ace.

"Apparently, a cat. I didn't know they had such dangerous creatures in the real world. But it can't dodge lightning blasts forever." Ace lifted his wristcannons and fired another blast. This one flicked up the dirt by the cat's feet. It hissed angrily.

"Wait!" Random grabbed Ace's arm as he powered up his wristcannons again.

"What?"

"That looks like Sprocket..."

"What? Wait, you mean that cat you had in the junkyard?" Sparx asked. "But that was tiny."

Chuck had half climbed out of the car, and was peering around the broken door. "It does look like an ordinary kitty. Just... bigger. What if Kilobyte did that thing like he did with Fred, and..."

"Chuck!" Ace snapped. "Get back in the car until we take care of this thing!"

Chuck tried to duck back inside and slam the car door, but it just ended up falling off completely.

Ace turned back to the fight to find that Random had rolled right past him and was approaching the oversized cat. "Random! Be careful!"

The cat growled as Random drew closer.

"Come on, Sprocket. It's just me..."

Sprocket took a few paces back, let out a hiss, then turned and bolted into the trees.

"Don't run... you... you pathetic coward!"

Ace heard the change of note in his friend's voice. He groaned. Please, not now. "Random..."

Random spun around, his claw raised. "Why does everyone always run?!" he snarled. His right eye glowed red.

Sparx stepped forward. "We're not running, Random. Come on, settle down. It's fine. Sprocket was probably just running because Ace zapped him. Not from you..."

Random seemed confused for a moment. He put a hand to the side of his his head. "I..."

"Random," Ace decided to follow Sparx's lead, and not give Random any reason to think them cowards. "It's alright..."

Random shuddered and his eye flickered back to an unsteady green. "Ace? Sparx? Did I just... damn it..." He turned and headed back into the woods.

"Random!" Ace called after him.

Sparx sighed. "I'll go after him."

Ace's shoulders slumped. "He was doing so well too."

"He still is," Sparx said, with a frown. "You just shouldn't have shot his cat."

Ace felt himself tense. "This isn't my... okay..." he drew in a breath. There was no sense letting the human emotions get the better of him. That wouldn't help anybody. "Just go check on him."

As Sparx left, Chuck and Mark emerged from the damaged car.

Chuck turned around so that he could survey the damage. One door was missing. The roof was dented in with claw marks, and there were bite marks on one corner. He let out a groan. "Oh man. My parents are going to kill me! How am I supposed to explain this?"

"Easier than a murder scene," said Mark, rolling his eyes. "It's fine, Chuck. You just need to take it to the panel beaters."

"I don't think they do scratch marks."

"Your vehicle can be fixed," Ace growled. "What I want to know is what you two were doing?"

Chuck all but ignored him. "Aw man, this is coming out of my allowance forever..."

"We told you," said Mark. "We were at the computer shack..."

"By yourselves!?"

"Yes," Mark snapped. "By ourselves. You're the one who asked us to find out who had messed with Fear's program."

"I asked Chuck to check the code, or whatever it is that he does. I didn't tell you to go put yourselves in danger. What if Kilobyte had been there?! You should have called us as soon as you'd worked out..."

"To do what, Ace? All you've been doing is sitting around the Thunder Tower. How were we supposed to know you'd even come to help?"

"By asking me!"

Mark drew in a breath and looked at the ground. "So now you're worried about me getting hurt? It's never bothered you before. I have been kidnapped, shot at, tossed in the back of ice cream trucks, attacked by giant pigs; I could have been killed a hundred times before and you've just shrugged if off like I'm complaining about nothing! Now you want to start lecturing me about putting myself in danger?"

"I've always been there for you, kid. But I can't help if I don't know what you're doing."

"Yeah, well it didn't feel like it."

Ace swallowed. "Okay, fine, so maybe I was a little careless before. But that was before Kilobyte killed the Master Programmer."

"Well be grateful it wasn't me who got knocked off first. You would have started caring too late."

Ace looked away for a moment. "Is that really what you think, kid?"

"Hey!" Chuck yelled. He was around the front of the vehicle, pushing with all his might. All he seemed to be doing was churning up dirt beneath his feet. "Can I get a... hand... over here..."

Ace stepped over beside him and nudged the vehicle's nose with the palm of his hand. It rolled back a few feet, out of the bushes and back onto the road.

"You do whatever you have to to get that back on the road, Chuck," Ace said. "I'll get out of your way, but I'll keep an eye on your from air. Make sure that cat doesn't come back."

"Thanks, man."

Ace glanced once more at Mark. The boy wouldn't look at him, but had his attention firmly fixed on the dirt that he was kicking up absentmindedly. Ace frowned, but bit down on an angry response and instead shot up into the sky. There wasn't much he could damage up there.


	3. Chapter 3

"Random!" Sparx scowled as she surveyed the woodlands about her. Trust Ace to go and mess things up by shooting the damn cat. She ignored the fact she had shot at it too. Random hadn't seen that. "Trees, trees, more trees... How hard can it be to find a cyborg..." The crack of a tree branch drew her attention. Sparx followed the sound. She found Random soon enough. He was leaning against the trunk of a thick tree with his good hand, and didn't appear to hear her approach.

"Are you alright?"

Random looked briefly startled as he looked up. His right eye was still glowing green, Sparx noticed.

"You shouldn't have followed me," he said eventually.

"Hey, you're the one who said I needed to keep you in line."

"I came out here because I'm dangerous," Random growled, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"So... nothing to do with your little pet? Not sure if you noticed, but I think someone else has been feeding it."

Random glared at her, and Sparx winced. That was her programming talking - all that taunting. It was something that just slipped out, which was fine sometimes, but it was obviously something Random did not need right now. They didn't have to follow the program anymore, if they didn't want to. But it was damned hard sometimes. "Did your evil side take over again?" she asked.

A pause. "I thought it was going to."

"See," Sparx said. "I knew you were doing okay..."

"No," Random said flatly, "I'm not. I'm... look, I thought I could do this. After you helped me at the junkyard I thought I was on top of it. And having you and Ace to talk sense into me does help. But... Sparx, every single day it's a struggle. I... I can't stop this thing from creeping into the edges of my mind. It's always there!" His eye flickered red briefly and he let out groan, hanging his head.

"Hey," Sparx stepped up to him and put her hands on his shoulders. If she didn't short-circuit this now he'd end up talking himself into letting that evil take over. She wouldn't let him. "You can do this; you're not evil. Random, listen to me... what does it want anyway?"

That drew his attention, and his right eye slowed in its flickering. "What... what do you mean?"

"If you're evil wants out, then it wants something, doesn't it? Why would it waste it's time if it didn't?"

Random put his hand to his head. "I... I don't know. Maybe it wants to hurt you... you should go..."

"Nah-uh," Sparx said firmly. "Cowards run, remember? And I'm not running. So I'm not in any danger. I know the real you doesn't want to hurt me."

"Sparx..." Random growled. He shuddered. "You don't know how hard this is."

"No, I don't. But I know it's not impossible. You wouldn't have risked staying around the Thunder Tower for so long if it was."

"The only reason I've stayed..." Random trailed off.

"Is?" Sparx pressed.

Random shuddered one last time, and his eye settled on green. "Doesn't matter. It's okay; it's gone."

Sparx took her hands off Random's shoulders, and let out a pent up breath. No matter what she told Random, the thought that he'd flip at any moment was always there. It took every ounce of her courage to stay in front of him. But hey, it seemed to be working, so there was little point in trying something else. And somehow the thought of him failing, and the pain she knew that would cause him, was something she didn't want to think about. "Are you alright?"

"Not really. But I'm not going to flip out and kill you, if that's what you mean."

"It's not," Sparx said quickly. "Is it... getting any easier?"

Random drew in a sigh and shrugged. "Not really... except when you're here..."

"What?"

"You're too stubborn for your own good, Sparx."

"Ah..." Sparx looked at the ground. "Always worked for me before."

"You remember our promise, right?" Random asked.

Sparx looked up and frowned. "Of course I do. Why do you think I came out here!? I don't want to have to send you back to the sixth dimension just because I wasn't here to talk sense into your thick head!"

Random smiled faintly. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"Somehow, I don't think you were programmed to care."

"Jeesh, you sure know how to pay a woman a compliment!" Sparx rolled her eyes. But she couldn't help thinking that maybe that was true.

"No, I meant..." Random shook his head. He looked away. "Why would you?"

"Because I know it'd kill you if you messed up and hurt someone. And I guess... I guess I know that's the reason you won't. You just can't see that. And I know it's gotta be hard but you still fight it anyway... its kinda..." Sparx trailed off, and flushed. Then she added in a rush: "Besides if you do mess up, I really don't want to send you back to the sixth dimension... then it'd just be Ace and Lady Illusion in the Thunder Tower and that would be boring, and annoying, and..." It was a funny thing, how in such a short time her feelings could change so dramatically. But she'd always been a risk taker. That was one part of her programming that she knew she would hold on to. As for most else that had governed her before, she was done with it. She drew in a breath, and again grasped Random by the shoulders. "Random?"

"Yeah?" Random was frowning at her; though he seemed a little amused by her outburst.

"Screw the programming." Sparx closed the gap between them pressed her lips against Random's, and for one brief, though somehow long, moment she felt him kiss her back.

And then he pulled away. "This isn't a good idea," he said hoarsely.

Sparx swallowed hard. She took a step back and turned around, squeezing her eyes shut tight as she did so. "Zoar damn it..."

"Maybe..." Random said. He cleared his throat. "Maybe we should just stick to keeping my evil away."

"Yeah..." Wonderful. Perhaps risk taking was a part of her programming that she should get rid of. Especially when it came to... this. Sparx turned back around, and forced a smile. "Yeah. That sounds like a plan, lugnut."

* * *

><p>Kilobyte slammed a fist on the keyboard. The whole rig rocked under the onslaught. "Useless!" he shouted to the darkness. Now he understood why the Programmer had taken so long to manipulate the code to allow them to leave the game. Perhaps if he had known how difficult it was back then, he would have been less rough with the mortal. His lip curled upwards. Probably not.<p>

The upgrade on Fear had worked. Mostly. Kilobyte was not one to give out gifts; it had simply been a test of his latest creation. But the sheer amount of time he had put into it had not been worth the outcome. To defeat Ace Lightning he needed something far more powerful. And he knew now that he would have to defeat Ace Lightning if he was to destroy the mortals.

"I am still limited by the programming," Kilobyte growled. He lifted the shining silver sphere he had claimed from the programmer's desk, and turned it over in the dim light. "I can only manipulate it so much to get what I desire. I could give every one of those minions an upgrade - provided I could make those upgrades work - but they would still need to be coerced or agree to follow me. I do not have the skill to manipulate the programming any deeper..." he admitted with a sigh. "I made a mistake when I destroyed the mortal."

Kilobyte stared gloomily at the sphere for a moment, his face reflected in the polished surface. Then a smile twisted his lips. "But this is the real world. We are no longer limited by the programming. There is so much that is outside the programming here. That we can now do because we are no longer within the boundaries of the game - therefore the answer does not lie within the game. The Master Programmer knew this. That's why he made me give Lightning human emotions - something that would not work within the game, but out here would weaken and fracture the enemy. So I too must find something in this world that will tip the scales in my favor. "

Kilobyte was just contemplating what this might be, when a noise from the front of the shop drew his attention. He paused, and listened for a moment. Gary had been making a racket in the alleyway on and off; it seemed cats, even at ten times their normal size, liked rooting through trashcans. But this sound was the clatter of keys, and then the slam of a door. Most definitely human. He scowled and stood quietly to his feet.

It looked like he would have to take care of this nuisance himself.

* * *

><p>Fiona stepped into the darkened shop and turned on the lights. It was worse than she thought it would've been. Not the clutter that had been left behind, something she'd probably have to arrange to have cleared up, but the thought that this was the place where a man had died. She repressed a shudder. Her son had been here within moments of whoever had done the deed. She was at least grateful Simon had reminded her, uncharacteristically tactfully too, that they had agreed they wouldn't tell Mark she was responsible for leasing out the shop space. It would just lead to uncomfortable conversations, and they both knew Mark had had enough of those. He didn't need to be reminded what had happened here.<p>

Fiona leaned back against a desk. "You know no one's going to show up anyway," she told herself. Who in their right minds wanted to work where a murder had taken place anyway? She glanced at her watch. No one was going to show, and no one would know if she snuck off early and went home. Fiona chewed her lip for a moment, then stood to her feet. If she left now, she'd probably get home in time to stop Simon attempting to make lunch.

The sound of a door creaking open shut down any thoughts of a quick escape. Fiona automatically put on her best smile, and turned towards the front door. There was nobody there.

"I don't like unexpected visitors," said a voice behind her.

Fiona gasped and spun around. The back room of the shop was open, and a tall figure stood there, still concealed within the darkness of the doorway. She took a step back and bumped against the desk. "You're, you're not supposed to be here..." she stuttered. "This shop is for lease, not... I'll call the police."

"I recognise you," said the tall man. "A recently departed... friend of mine used to keep a close eye on your son."

For the briefest of moments, the flood of fear that had kept her frozen leaked away at the mention of Mark. "Wait... what do you have to do with my son?!" Fiona felt a keyboard under her hand on the desk behind her. She snatched it up and brandished it in front of her. "You stay away from him!"

The man chuckled. Something whipped across the room and slapped the keyboard out of her hand.

Fiona looked down to see what looked like a purple tentacle wrapped around her wrist. "What..." she began. She tugged, but she may as well have been stuck in solid stone. She looked up towards the man, just in time to see another of the tentacles whip out of the darkness. It flew towards her face, and then she saw nothing but black.

* * *

><p>Mark sat on Chuck's front steps, waiting for his father to come to pick him up. The thought of trying to explain the events of the day would normally fill Mark with trepidation, but somehow he found himself calmer than he expected. He supposed it was because he knew trying to explain away Chuck's trashed car would be a lot easier than explaining your presence at a murder scene.<p>

Chuck, on the other hand, had completely begun to panic when he'd realised he'd have to tell his parents about the car. So Mark had come with him when the car had been towed, and then when his parents had come to pick him up from the repairers. Mark had tried to call his dad then, wanting to avoid driving home whilst Chuck probably got chewed out for destroying the family vehicle, but he hadn't gotten an answer. It was only after he had arrived at Chuck's house and tried again that his father had picked up.

Mark supposed he could have walked home anyway, but after what had happened at the computer shack he wanted to let his parents know that he was okay, even if it had meant owning up to Chuck's car. If they found out about it second hand from Chuck's parents, he'd probably be in a whole lot more trouble. But his father had hardly reacted like he expected, instead of a lecture he'd told Mark he was out and would come and pick him up. Mark was under no illusion that a lecture wouldn't be forthcoming though. His father hadn't said much, but he'd sounded flustered; he was probably in for it as soon as he got in the car.

But his father was taking forever, and Mark was almost ready to walk home when the car finally pulled up. The boy let out a sigh and headed to the vehicle. He opened the door and jumped in, expecting to immediately have to explain himself. But Simon wasn't even looking at him. He was tapping on his phone's keypad, frowning as he did so.

"Stupid tiny keys..." he muttered.

Mark slammed the door shut, and only then did Simon seem to notice his son was in the car.

He let out a sigh and tossed the phone up onto the dash. "What have you been up to now, Mark?"

Mark groaned and rolled his eyes. "Nothing, I... we just got a bit carried away and ran off the road..."

"... but you're alright?"

Mark shrugged. "Yeah."

Simon said nothing, but put the car into gear and pulled off from the curb.

Mark swallowed. Perhaps he'd miscalculated when he'd thought it would be easy to convince his parents this wasn't a big deal. His father barely seemed to be paying him attention; he must be really mad. "Look, dad. We weren't doing anything wrong. Chuck hasn't had his license that long and I... maybe he went a bit fast. We just lost control and went off the road..." Of course, it wasn't the truth. At least his father hadn't seen the state of the vehicle afterwards, or he might very well question that story.

Instead, Simon had picked up the phone again and was glancing at the screen in between keeping his eyes on the road. It made Mark nervous; his father wasn't all that attentive to the road at the best of times.

Simon cursed under his breath when he didn't see whatever it was he was looking for, and threw the phone back up on the dashboard.

Mark frowned. "Dad, are you alright?"

Simon now had his attention back on the road; he stared straight ahead. "Mark... you did tell the truth about what happened at that computer place, right?"

Mark felt his stomach rise to his throat. "What... what does that have to do with anything, dad? Chuck and me, we just had an accident... it had nothing to do with that..."

"Answer the question, son."

"Yes; I told the truth!" It came easier than Mark would have liked. Why did his father have to bring this up?! "Look, if you're mad about Chuck's car..."

"No."

Mark couldn't get his head around what was going on. Had his father figured out what was happening with Ace Lightning? "Then..." he asked tentatively, "why do you want to know?"

Simon was quiet for a moment. They had just driven into their street. He pulled up into their driveway, and turned off the engine before he finally replied. "Your mother isn't home yet."

Mark wasn't sure what that had to do with anything. "Wait, she was working, wasn't she?"

"She was supposed to come home for lunch." Simon drew in a breath. "It's nearly tea time..."

"Maybe... she could just be working late..."

"I've tried calling her. I've checked outside the computer shack and her car's there, but no sign of her. And I've called the police..."

Mark didn't hear the rest of his father's sentence. At the mention of the computer shack he was sure, for a moment, his heart stopped. And then he exploded: "What?! The computer shack!? But you and mum... you told me she was going to some shut down ice cream shop, not..." He paused, as the truth hit him. "You lied to me..."

"Yes, we lied to you, Mark!" his father snapped back, at a volume matching his son's. "You nearly witnessed a murder there; that would upset anyone. After everything you had to go through with the police, we knew you didn't like talking about it, and..."

"Dad! How could you guys lie to me?!"

"Because you're our son! We're supposed to protect you; that's our job!"

"No!" Mark could feel his heart thumping. "No, I mean... she shouldn't have gone! If you'd told me, I'd have... I'd have..."

The sound of his phone ringing interrupted him. In lieu of thinking up a way to finish that sentence, a way that didn't involve mentioning Ace Lightning, Mark snatched out the phone and looked at the screen. "It's... it's mum..." he stuttered, as the caller ID flashed back at him.

Simon stared at him for a moment, and then slumped back in his car seat. He let out a breath, and covered his face with one hand. "Thank, God..."

Mark was not anywhere near as relieved. Not now he knew where his mother had really gone. Still, he answered the phone hopefully. "... mum?"

"Guess again." The voice that answered was deep and cold, and sent shivers up Mark's spine.

"Kilobyte..."

"Good boy," Kilobyte purred back.

Mark swallowed, and answered as strongly as he could. "What do you want?"

Kilobyte chuckled. "All mortals cannot be this stupid, surely? I have your mother's phone, boy. And I have your mother. As to what I want... come back into town. I will contact you again and tell you where to find me. But you must come alone. None of your lightning knight pals, and no other mortals. Come by yourself."

"I can do that," Mark said, glancing quickly at his father.

Simon was staring at him. He looked nowhere near as relaxed as he had but moments ago.

"Good," said Kilobyte. "Do all this, and your mother will not be harmed. Ignore my instructions, and..."

Mark felt himself flush. "If you do anything to hurt her..."

"That's up to you, mortal."

"Okay, okay," Mark winced. "Don't do anything, I'll be there, I'll..."

The phone was snatched from his grasp. Simon put it to his ear and barked into it with a vehemence that surprised Mark. "Who is this?!"

Mark could hear Kilobyte's chuckle faintly across the car, and then the line went dead.

"Hello!?" Simon said into the phone again. He took it from his ear and stared at it for a moment. His hand shook.

Mark suddenly realised that the first obstacle he faced would not be Kilobyte. "Dad..." he said, his voice wavering. "I... I can explain..."

Simon swallowed hard, and put the phone on the dash. "Son," he said; his voice nowhere near as steady as when he'd taken the phone. "What have you got yourself involved in?"


End file.
